Paper Thin
by emileighhs
Summary: Katniss and Peeta are best friends, but something seems to change when Gale steps over the line for Peeta. Pre-Hunger Games, but same age.
1. Chapter 1: Kiss

_This flood is slowly rising up, swallowing the ground beneath my feet._  
><em>Tell me how anybody thinks under this condition so,<br>I'll swim, I'll swim, as the water rises up, sun is sinking down,  
>And now all I can see are the planets in a row suggesting it's best that I slow down.<br>__This night's a perfect shade of dark blue, dark blue._

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

My pace quickens as I near the house. I slide my game bag off my shoulder and clutch it in my hand when I began to go up the steps. I take a deep breath and gently knock on the door.

There's something about the Mellark's house that always makes me nicer. Maybe it's because Mrs. Mellark hates me.

Barlee, Peeta's older brother who likes me as much as his mother, opens the door. He frowns a little.

"Hello Katniss," he says.

My own face and voice tighten. "Hey Barlee. Is Peeta home?" I ask, gritting my teeth a little.

"Yeah, hold on." He shuts the door, and I'm left standing in the cold long enough for me to wrap my arms around myself. I turn and examine the merchant houses around me. I've been here before, many times actually, I've just never took the time to study the other houses.

They're mostly two stories and covered in less coal dust than the houses in the Seam. They are painted in light colors, a deep contrast to the browns and greys of the Seam, but you can see the blackish-grey coal dust settled into the cracks more against the pale yellows, blues, and whites than you can against my house.

"Katniss."

I turn back around and grin at Peeta, my cheeks frozen. "Come in or you're going to freeze," he scolds, looking over his shoulder at his brother who shrugs as he heads up the stairs.

"Sorry about that," he says as if it's the first time it's happened. I lift my game bag a little and shake it playfully.

"I got your dad some squirrels," I say, smiling.

"That's good. He's been asking where you've been." I blush and look down. I've been hanging out with Gale more than I have with Peeta recently. As if on cue, the baker walks out of the kitchen, saving me from my awkward moment and wiping his hands on a dishtowel.

"Katniss! Good to see you."

"Hello Mr. Mellark. Is your wife around?" The question sounds innocent enough, but he only takes squirrels if his witch of a wife isn't here to witness it.

He grins mischievously. "She's upstairs at the moment." I smile and pull out three fat squirrels and hand them to him.

"Great," he says. "Why don't you stay for dinner?"

"Thank you," I say. He walks back into the kitchen.

"Let's go to my room," Peeta says, nudging me in the direction of the stairs. I almost set my game bag by the door, but I know if Mrs. Mellark finds it, she'll yell at Peeta for being my friend, and basically just stir up drama.

I clutch the bag tighter in my fist and walk up the stairs, going to the second door on the right. It's not the first time I've been in his room. We've been friends since we were eleven, so I've been here many times with Peeta's father's approval. His mother fought it, but somehow Mr. Mellark convinced her.

I drop my bag on the floor and nibble on my bottom lip. Peeta crashes on his bed. "Well," he says, raising his eyebrows. "Make yourself at home."

It's funny because I'm usually the one throwing myself down on Peeta's bed. It's just the friendship we've developed where I can't possibly be shy around him anymore because there's not a thing he doesn't know about me. Whenever I get around Peeta, I become looser and tend to grin a lot more than when I'm with anyone else. He makes my day better.

I've known him since we were five. I got called on to sing our anthem and after, Peeta came up to me and said, "You have a pretty voice". We didn't talk again until the day after he gave me the loaves of bread that saved my life. He was the one who plucked up the courage to talk to me the next day after school. He came up to me when I was walking home, holding my little sister's hand.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asked me, making me stop. I only nodded and turned to look at him. His eye was blackened from his mother hitting him. After that, we just became friends. I guess an unspoken bond is formed when someone saves your life.

Peeta props himself up on his elbows and gives me a look. "Are you okay?" he asks.

I wrap my arms around myself. I haven't talked to Peeta in two weeks and here he is acting like nothing has happened, as if the last time we hung out was yesterday. The guilt churns my stomach. I've recently been hunting with Gale a lot more than usual. The event from yesterday pops into my mind and I feel like my lungs have collapsed.

I have to tell Peeta. There have never been any secrets between us, and if I keep this from him, he'll find out eventually and probably be hurt because he'll think I can't trust him.

"Gale kissed me," I say quickly. Peeta sits up, furrowing his eyebrows and causing an angry crease to appear between his eyes.

"What?" he snaps.

I know Peeta likes me; I've known since we were twelve. I could tell by the way he acted around me. At first, I told myself that he's just kind, but he didn't treat other girls like he treated me. Sure, he was kind to them, but it was a friendly kind. The way he treated me was like he wanted more. He doesn't know that I know.

I met Gale Hawthorne right around the time I found out Peeta had feelings for me. We hunted together every morning for the past four years and we still do today. I didn't know Gale liked me. I never thought of him like that, I never thought of anyone like that.

Gale and Peeta don't talk to each other. I guess they just have a mutual agreement to stay away from each other.

After the shock, Peeta's face flickers to hurt for half a second before it hardens. "Is that why you haven't been talking to me?" he asks, his voice low.

I shake my head. "No, this only happened yesterday while we were hunting."

Peeta nods, scowling. "So are you two dating now or...?"

I sigh and finally give in. I sit next to Peeta with my fingers knotted in my lap. I don't open up, but I feel I owe it to Peeta for some reason.

"I...I don't know, Peeta. I've never thought of Gale like that. I'm just...I'm confused." I drop my head in my hands. Peeta touches my back and I surprise myself by not shying away.

"Just tell him. If he really cares about you, he'll understand," he says softly. I rub my palms into my eyes.

"Hey, I know," Peeta says suddenly, his tone changing to mischievous. "Why don't I teach you how to make bread?"

Before the protest can even pass my lips, Peeta says, "Katniss, it'll get your mind off things, trust me. It'll be fun and it can make up for us not talking for two weeks."

Oh, right. I do owe him something. God, do I hate owing. "Okay," I say slowly.

"We needed bread for dinner anyways."

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

Of course Gale would kiss Katniss. Of course, of course, of course. I knew it would happen, it was destined to. On days at school when Katniss eats lunch with Madge instead of me, the girls at my table swoon over Gale and ask me if he and Katniss have a thing. It is always the same answer. No. But now, my heart drops at the thought of having to tell them yes.

Katniss nudges my shoulder and I look down at her. I realized I stopped halfway up the sidewalk to the bakery. I blink and walk the rest if the way. If my mother knew I was using fresh ingredients just to find a way to sort of flirt with Katniss, she'd kill me. Oh well.

I flip on the lights and head to the kitchen, Katniss trailing behind me. She doesn't really cooperate with mixing the ingredients, but when time comes to knead the dough, she shuffles forward. I don't know if it's out of curiosity or just to see what I'm doing, but I'm about to make her contribute.

"Here, come knead the dough," I say, touching the small of her back. I'm surprised when she doesn't react to my touch. She doesn't usually like it when I touch her too much.

"Uh, no that's okay. You do it, I don't know how," Katniss says. I push my hand and she takes a step forward.

"I'll teach you. Just put your hands on the dough." Katniss huffs and lays her hands over the lumpy mass. I come up behind her and place my hands on top of hers. I push down on the heels of my palms and push forward then curl my fingers and roll it back towards me.

I'm not super close to Katniss, but I can feel her body heat pressing against me, practically mocking me since I can't get any closer. A few more minutes and Katniss is kneading the dough herself, but I don't dare let go. I lean forward a little to look at her face. She's got the smallest smile formed on her lips.

She suddenly looks up and my eyes dart away to look back at our flour-covered hands. I like the way our hands look together, her olive skin in contrast to my pale skin. The burns on my hands and wrists are noticeable but the calluses I've become custom to seeing on her fingers aren't visible. It feels strange doing something so...romantic with my best friend. I take my right hand off hers but continue the motion with my left.

I place my hand on her cheek and when I pull away, there's a powdery white handprint there.

"Peeta!" she says. I also like it when she says my name. Katniss pats her own hand in the extra flour and taps my cheek.

"We match!" I joke. She rolls her eyes but I grin anyways. She turns her head to look at me and she looks cute with flour on her face. What I would give to kiss Katniss Everdeen right now, but I know I can't. She doesn't know I like her and I don't want her to get even more confused. A confused Katniss is a cute Katniss, but it makes her irritable, too. I have liked her since we were five and she sung in front of everyone. As soon as I heard her voice, I knew I was a goner.

I remember my father pointing her out on the first day of school and telling me he wanted to marry her mother but she ran off with a coal miner.

I'm brought back to the present when I hear the bell over the door ring. I freeze, my hands still on top of Katniss's. The bakery is closed so the only people that would be coming in would be one of my family members.

Not my mom, not my mom, _please_ not my mom, I pray. Lucky for me, it was my brother, Rye. He pauses in the doorway to the kitchen, raising his eyebrows. I'm glad it's not Barlee, either; he doesn't like Katniss as much as Rye does.

"Hey Peeta, hey Katniss," he says, grinning at me. I'm confused at his grin until I realize how close Katniss and I are, our hands still together in the dough. Plus, bakers DO find making bread with someone other than your family member romantic. I don't pull away though.

"Hey Rye," Katniss says. Rye quirks his eyebrow at me.

"What are you doing here?" he asks. Rye is only two years older than me, so he still has to work in the bakery or our mom would chew his head off.

"Making bread for dinner," I say, trying to signal him to leave with my eyes. Apparently he gets the message.

"Hmm. Well, don't burn anything."

Katniss laughs, a sound I love, but don't hear often. The suddenness of it startles me. She just grins at him.

"No promises."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The idea of Katniss and Peeta being BFF isn't an original one, I just thought I'd play around with. I don't really like how this chapter turned out, I'm still rusty from having writer's block for like three months and not even trying to overcome it. I'm working on it! Do you like it? Tell me in the review and if you do, I'll add another chapter(:**


	2. Chapter 2: Explosion

_Even the best fall down sometimes  
>Even the wrong words seem to rhyme<br>Out of the doubt that fills your mind  
>You finally find you and I collide<em>

You finally find you and I collide  
>You finally find you and I collide<p>

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

My cheeks are frozen and my breath is coming out in puffs of ice as I wiggle underneath the fence around District 12. I don't know what to expect with how Gale's going to act. Is he going to act like it never happened? Or is he going to kiss me again?

_Just tell him_, Peeta had said. I don't open up to Gale about my feelings. Okay, maybe once in a while there's a mumbling string of curses for the Capitol, but other than that, nothing. We usually just talk around feelings. I pull my bow and arrows out of the log and unwrapped the waterproof plastic sheet. We only have a couple of hours to hunt today because we both have school. I quicken my place. I don't want to make us late.

I see the back of Gale's head but I don't call out to him. He turns anyways though.

"Hey Catnip," he says. I can tell he's been here for at least an hour because he's already checked all the snares and has four rabbits in his hand. He stuffs them into his bag.

"Do you want to go check that berry bush?"

"No. Gale, we need to talk."

Gale's shoulders stiffen. He opens his mouth but I plow on. I want to get this out before he says anything.

"It was really sudden and...and I wasn't expecting it. You really confused me, Gale. I didn't know you had feelings for me. And I just think that I need some time before...IF we have a relationship." I wince at my words. It's not how I wanted it to come out, but I'm not good with words.

Gale shrugs. "That's understandable. I didn't mean to jump on you like that."

I nod. "Okay. I don't know how long it'll take me to think."

He smiles. "Katniss, I don't care how long it takes you. It's okay, really."

I automatically relax at his response. I feel more comfortable. "How about those berries?"

* * *

><p>I lean my chin on my hand and try to focus on my teacher but I can feel Peeta's eyes on the side my face. He's been trying to get my attention since class started but I can't afford to get distracted. My grades are already slipping. No doubt he wants to know if I spoke to Gale.<p>

I finally give in to Peeta. He's pretty persistent. I turn to look at him and he mouths, _Did you talk to Gale?_

I nod and mouth back, _After school. _

He nods on turns back to the front. As I do the same, I see a bird pass by just out of the corner of my eye. I look out the window as another passes. I can only catch a glimpse of it but I know the colors are black and white. It's a mockingjay.

Back in the Dark Days, when the Capitol wanted information from the rebels, they sent jabberjays, birds who could listen then repeat any words in any tone to receive information from the rebels. They worked well until the rebels found out and fed the Capitol false information. It was like a slap in the face for the Capitol.

They sent them out into the wild to die off, but instead they mated with mockingbirds, thus the mockingjay was created.

Peeta once told me his father said that when my dad sung, all the birds stopped to listen. I have a vague memory of being in the woods with him and pausing when he saw a mockingjay so he could sing. The bird politely paused then repeated him. He used to sing to Prim and I all the time.

After he died, I took up singing for Prim.

"Miss Everdeen."

I jerk my head back to the front where my teacher has his lips pursed and eyebrows raised. All the students are turned and looking at me, some of the merchant kids giggling.

"Pay more attention," he says, and then continues on with his lecture like he never stopped.

When the bell sounds, I'm the first one out, mumbling under my breath. It seems teachers' favorite thing to do is to call out people.

"Katniss wait!" Peeta calls. I slow down and wait for him to catch up.

"So, what did you say to Gale?" he asks.

"I just told him that he confused me and I needed time to think before we have a relationship."

Peeta frowns. "I mean if," I say, stopping in front of my paint-chipped, beat-up locker. Truthfully, I'm surprised we even have lockers. "If we have a relationship."

He nods and lean against the locker next to me. "You know that coal mining test we have on Monday?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I shove all my books into my locker but keep my hand poised over my mining book, a book provided by the Capitol to keep us studied up on all things mining. God forbid one District have a lack in supplying the Capitol.

"Do you want to come over and we could study for it? No one'll be home until six." By "no one" he means his mom or Barlee, which I am fine with.

"Okay." Peeta and I walk to the entrance to the school and wait for Prim, who meets us here. "But we'll have to walk Prim home, first. Or at least I do. If you don't want to, you can go ahead and go home and I'll meet you there."

Peeta shakes his head. "No, it's fine. I'll walk with you." Prim walks up.

"Hello Peeta!" she says, grinning. Prim loves Peeta.

"Hey Prim," Peeta says. "I'm walking you home today."

Prim claps her hands together. "Great!" She skips off. I hike my bag further onto my shoulder and follow her, Peeta right next to me.

"Catnip!" Peeta tenses up next to me and I turn to see Gale sprinting down the hallway towards me. He slows when he sees Peeta who's taken interest in his bag strap.

"Hey," I say.

"Prim!" Peeta calls. "Prim, we've stopped!"

I can barely hear her "Oh".

"Where are you off to?" Gale asks, eyeing Peeta again.

"Walking Prim home."

"What are you doing after?"

"Go-"

"She's coming to my house," Peeta interrupts. Gale's eyes snap to him, but he doesn't say anything. They stare each other down for a moment before Gale looks back at me.

"Alright" is all he says and he turns on his heels and walks in the opposite direction.

I feel a little spurt of irritation towards Peeta but it's not like he did anything horribly wrong. I _am_ going to his house.

"Let's go," I say.

* * *

><p>There's really no point in studying, every person in District 12 has had all this information memorized since we started school. They just give us a test every year, same questions but rephrased, to keep it fresh in our minds.<p>

Peeta and I have our books open anyways, sitting on his couch. It's only about three-thirty and we're already bored. Peeta suddenly slams his book shut.

"Do you want some tea?" he asks.

"Sure."

I watch him as he shuffles around his kitchen, getting the tea out and putting the kettle on the stove. My eyelids begin to feel heavy and it's a hassle just to keep them open.

"Katniss?" I sit up quickly and rub my eyes. I had slid down the couch and started to fall asleep. I woke up early this morning after I had a nightmare about my father. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I lay in bed and let Prim's light breathing calm me.

"Are you tired?" Peeta laughs, sitting next to me. I rub my temples.

"A little."

He smiles at me. "Why don't you take a nap on the couch?"

I shake my head. "No, it's okay, I came to hang out with you, not sleep on your couch." Peeta moved closer and uses both hands to cup my face. It startles me, but I don't pull away.

"Katniss, I don't mind, really. Plus, you look exhausted. Are you having nightmares again?"

Now I pull away and turn my head in the other direction. Peeta knows me too well. He takes my reaction as a yes. He gently tugs on my shoulders until I'm laying fully down. No matter how much my mind protests, my body begins to shut down. Peeta lifts my head into his lap as I fade into sleep.

* * *

><p>I can see the entrance to the mine. The alarms are going off, the piercing sound pressing against my ears and I have to resist the urge to cover them because I'm holding little Prim's hand.<p>

The elevators are working hard to bring up coal-covered miners. Prim can't see anything and I'm glad. Some men aren't all intact. The ground begins to rumble and I know the mines are collapsing but my dad hasn't come out yet.

The ground shakes hard and it feels like I'm being sucked in, but I'm still watching the entrance crumple more. Suddenly, my father digs his way out of the ruble. Relief hits me like a ton of bricks.

He turns to look at me and smiles. The dirt beneath my feet tilts. It's a feeling I have deep in my stomach like I know what's going to happen. A scream claws its way of my throat.

_"Run!"_ I scream but it's too late. Like a bubble, the ground bursts right where my father is standing and blood showers from the sky. I scream.

"Katniss!"

I jerk awake and accidentally punch Peeta in the chest. He must've gotten up at some point after I feel asleep because he was standing in front of me. I catch him off guard and knock him to the ground with my hit.

"Oof!"

I can't even catch my breath to apologize. I bring my shaking hands to my face. Peeta pulls himself up and squats in front of me.

"Katniss?" He gently pulls my hands off my face and holds them in his, effectively stopping the shaking.

"Was it your father?" I don't answer, but he already knows the answer. My worst nightmare is reliving the day my dad died. I don't cry; crying over this nightmare stopped years ago, but it still upsets me. Of course it would, he's my father.

Peeta pulls me into his arms and I don't fight it.

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

Hearing Katniss scream like that hurts me. I got up to get some scones out and she just started screaming bloody murder. It took me a second to wake her up. My chest aches a little but I'm okay. Katniss has a mean punch.

She buries her face in my chest as I wrap my arms around her. I know about her father and what happened to him. I also know she's had nightmares since she was eleven and they're mostly about her dad dying. I hate knowing Katniss has suffered from hunger and loss. My heart aches at the thought.

I reach out and touch her braid, running my fingers over the knots. She's shaking hard and for some reason it makes me think she's cold, so I pull her closer until I can feel every rattling breath.

"It's okay," I murmur. I'm glad she didn't start crying. I'd do anything for a crying girl. Anything.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks for the reviews and the favorites and alerts and all that good stuff! I know Katniss's dad never made it out of the mine, but it's a nightmare and wouldn't it be scary if your dad blew up right in front of you? I'd be traumatized. Well, anyways review! Me gusta reviews :B**

**P.S Special thanks to peeta-mellark4ever for correcting me on Chapter One! I don't know why I called Peeta's parents Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen...?**


	3. Chapter 3: Snowflakes

_Closed off from love  
>I didn't need the pain<br>Once or twice was enough  
>And it was all in vain<br>Time starts to pass  
>Before you know it you're frozen<br>_

_But something happened  
>For the very first time with you<br>My heart melts into the ground  
>Found something true<br>And everyone's looking round  
>Thinking I'm going crazy<em>

_But I don't care what they say  
>I'm in love with you. <em>

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

_"Peeta!"_

The pang of annoyance that hits me is so strong it shocks me. I slam my book into my locker and tighten my jaw. Peeta looks a little surprised at the blonde girl that sidles up next to him. It's his ex-girlfriend, Eileen, whose parents are pretty rich compared to everyone else in District 12. Of course, his mother had set them up to date. It was last year and they only went out for a few months, but towards the end, Peeta was miserable.

"Oh, hey Eileen," he says, raising his eyebrows at me. Eileen is obnoxiously pretty and she tries too hard to make sure everyone knows it. She bats her oversized eyelashes.

"So, I was thinking," she purrs, walking her fingers across his chest, "That maybe we could hang out after school?"

Another pang of annoyance hits me. I slam my locker shut hard. Eileen turns to glare at me. I know all of Peeta's merchant friends ask why he's friends with me, and I the same. His only answer for me is, "Their parents are friends with my parents, and some of them are actually nice."

"Uh," Peeta pushes her hand off his chest and shoots me a panicked look. Peeta's too nice to tell her to leave him alone. "I don't think so, Eileen."

She pouts and pulls herself up on her toes to whisper in his ear. He swallows hard and shakes his head. Eileen drops down hard and huffs.

"Whatever," she snaps, and storms off to her pack of giggling friends. I hate her. She's rude and selfish, not to mention she's kind of known to put herself out there more than once. My first thought is has Peeta done anything with her? I quickly shake it from my head and throw my bag onto my shoulder.

"What'd she say?" I snap, trudging down the hall. Peeta keeps pace with me.

"You really don't want to know." He shakes his head and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Okay," I say. The annoyance is dripping from my voice and Peeta catches on to it.

"Why Katniss, are you jealous?" he jokes, bumping his shoulder into mine.

"No!" I answer much too quickly. He gives me a strange look but shrugs it off after a moment. I scowl. Why would I be jealous of Eileen? Sure she dated Peeta, and he thought that she was pretty. When he said that during the first month of them dating, I scoffed.

"She is, just in a different way. I like natural beauty better," he'd said. I'd just rolled my eyes.

Peeta grins at me and readjusts his bag. My eyes go straight to his arms, the ones that held me last night. I don't know how long we stood there in the middle of the living room. I guess we stopped when I stopped shaking. Thinking about Peeta's warm body against mine makes my stomach flip. It scares me.

He's my best friend; he's always been my best friend. I've never thought if him being more. I'm Katniss Everdeen, I never think of having any more than a friendship with someone. Now, that's coming around to bite me in the butt both times.

I can't possibly have feelings for Peeta. Sure, he's handsome. He's tall with broad shoulders (from lifting all that flour), ash blonde hair and blue eyes. When I walk with him in the hallways, I can hear other girls whispering about him. So yes, he is attractive. Peeta's also kind, smart and caring.

Even if we ever did date, I would never deserve him, me being rude and cold. I furrow my eyebrows. What am I thinking? Here I am thinking Peeta and I will actually have a relationship.

"What do you think about that?" Peeta asks. I blink a few times and look at him.

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" I answer as Prim skips up and slips her small hand into mine.

"Hey Peeta!" she emits, squeezing my hand.

"Hello Prim. I was asking if you would take me to the woods today? Last time we went, it didn't go so well."

It didn't. The first time I took Peeta into the woods, around two years ago, he scared away all my game with his loud footsteps. Then, he snuck bread out of the bakery for me because I didn't have any food for dinner that night.

"We don't have to hunt; I know you do that with Gale. Maybe we could go on a walk or something? Today seems like the perfect day to go on a walk," Peeta says, gesturing to the dirty snow as soon as the front doors open.

I don't like the cold, but I figure I should give Peeta a chance to be in the woods again. "Alright, Peeta."

* * *

><p>I crawl on my belly under the hole in the fence and wait for Peeta. He glances around and does the same. It takes a little longer than usual because Peeta isn't as skinny as Gale and I are. His shoulders are a little bigger and he has more muscle.<p>

I give him my hand and pull him up the rest of the way. I'm already shivering, even though I have my father's thick hunting jacket on. The snow out here is white and fluffy opposed to the grey, dirty snow in the District.

"Brrr," Peeta says, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Your idea," I say, pulling my jacket in closer. "C'mon."

I nudge him towards the trees. As we trudge in the snow up I glance at Peeta. His cheeks and the tip of his nose are red from the cold. I have an urge to reach out and warm him up but I don't. I don't know where that urge came from.

We hike for a while until I can't feel my cheeks anymore. "Do you want to head back?" This wasn't much of a walk, but the snow that was on my boots has melted and now my socks are wet.

"Yeah." Peeta shivers so hard, his elbow hits the tree next to him.

"Maybe when it's not negative twenty degrees outside we can go on a walk. Why don't we go during the summer?"

Peeta nods and turns to walk downhill. I jog to catch up with him.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He shrugs. "Yeah, I just wish we could've had more time."

I loop my arm through his. "We will! When it's summer…or at least not snowing."

We fall into comfortable silence as our feet make soft crunching noises. When we reach the fence, I lie down on my belly and almost grab the fence to push myself through but that's when I hear it. A light buzzing sound.

They've turned the electricity on, and it's coursing its way through the metal.

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

Katniss freezes for a moment then jerks upright. She moves forward, turns her head to the side and stays there, just a few inches from the fence.

"Katniss-"

_"Shh!"_

I close my mouth obediently and cross my arms, trying not to shiver. After a moment, Katniss slides back and uses my arm to pull herself up. She shaking, part from the snow, part for what just happened I'm guessing. She pushes against my chest, making me walk backwards back into the woods. We pass a few trees then she stops.

"What is it?" I ask.

"The electricity is on which means the fence can shock us. It's happened before when Gale and I went hunting once. We just wait it out, it'll shut off eventually."

I nod and lean up against the tree. Katniss shivers again. It's the coldest I've ever been.

"Are you cold?" I ask.

"It's not that bad," Katniss says, but her voice comes out distorted through her chattering teeth.

I walk over to where she's standing. Her lips are a dusty shade of blue. I unzip my heavy jacket, the sudden gust of cold air chilling me to the bone, pull Katniss against my chest, and zip my jacket around her. I'm glad it's a hand me down for Barlee who's a bit bigger than me so it fits the both of us.

Katniss wraps her arms around my waist, sending tingles up my spine.

"I think my toes are frozen," she mumbles. I grin and wrap my own arms around her. I can feel her body heat and mine mixing together in the jacket. The jacket reflects body heat like none other.

She shivers again and rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me. My stomach drops into my toes when she smiles a little. I want to kiss her so badly. Maybe I should. Maybe that way, Katniss can think about dating me, not just Gale. Half of my brain thinks it's a clever idea.

I move my hands up to cup her cold face. Her grey eyes flash to confusion. There's the Katniss I've known for five years, always questioning my motives. I angle her chin up and lower my head.

_If she doesn't think of me like I do of her, she's going to kill me_, I think.

Katniss doesn't pull away but then again I move to fast for her to react. My lips touch hers and the fear of her hitting me vanishes. This is right, this is perfect. Katniss doesn't kiss back, but her hands unwrap from my waist and curl against my chest.

My face flushes from happiness and I pull her closer. Her mouth opens a little and I can't help but think _Is this the way she kissed Gale? Did she respond to him?_

I pull away for air and Katniss's eyes flutter open, snowflakes stuck to them. She stares at me a moment then begins to wiggle. I don't know what she's doing at first, but after a second, I unzip the jacket and let her out. She steps back about five feet.

I just kissed Katniss Everdeen!

This strange giddy feeling settles in my stomach and I almost bounce on the balls of my feet but then I see her face. She doesn't look happy or like she had an epiphany that she loves me. She's looking at me curiously.

Katniss walks out of the woods and over to the fence. She pauses a moment. Apparently the electricity is off because she crawls under it and stalks off without even looking back.

I'm left standing in the woods feeling like an idiot.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mmmpfffppptt I couldn't hold it back, I had to make them kiss :B Review please! **


	4. Chapter 4: Cookies

_Don't run away...  
><em>_And it's hard to love again,  
><em>_When the only way it's been,  
><em>_When the only love you know,  
><em>_Just walked away...  
><em>_If it's something that you want,  
><em>_Darling you don't have to run,  
><em>_You don't have to go..._

_Just stay with me, baby stay with me,_

_Well, I'm not sure what this is gonna be,  
><em>_But with my eyes closed all I see  
><em>_Is the skyline, through the window,  
><em>_The moon above you and the streets below.  
><em>_Hold my breath as you're moving in,  
><em>_Taste your lips and feel your skin.  
><em>_When the time comes, baby don't run, just kiss me slowly._**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

"Come with me," Peeta whispers in my ear. I look at him and he smiles at me, intertwining our fingers. Just this small act makes me have heart palpitations. He turns and presses his lips against mine. As I reach up to wrap my arms around his neck, someone touches my elbow.

I turn away from Peeta, who groans.

"Don't listen to him," Gale murmurs, tugging me in his direction. "Come with _me_."

Temporarily forgetting Peeta, I twist to follow Gale. Peeta grabs my arm and pulls me against his chest, emitting a protective growl. Gale snarls at him and jerks me back towards him. They both pull hard, making me feel like my arms are being pulled out of its sockets. I want them both to leave me alone, but they tug harder still.

My body is being ripped in half, physically and emotionally. Half of it wanting to go with Gale, the other half is begging for Peeta. I watch as my body splits completely in half, blood splattering Peeta and Gale's shirts. They don't even notice as they hold my mangled body against their chests, staring each other down. My mind and heart are a jumbled mess of things.

* * *

><p>I have two classes with Peeta, third class and last class. I don't have to worry about Peeta staring me down during third because we sit in the same row, me in the front, and he in the back. But last is another story. I sit in the row closest to the window, and he sits in the same seat two rows over.<p>

I can feel his eyes on me, begging for my attention, but I keep my eyes forward. I'm mad at him. Or so I keep telling myself. I just wish he would've waited until I got things all sorted out with Gale. Speaking of Gale, I haven't talked to him into two days and he's probably annoyed with me. I need to talk to him before I do anything about anything else.

* * *

><p>I clear the books out of my bag like I do every Friday. I hear heavy footsteps and immediately know who it is. I close my locker and turn to leave, but Peeta grabs my elbow, just like Gale did in my dream.<p>

"Katniss," he says softly through the same lips that were against mine yesterday. I shiver. To tell the truth, I did enjoy the kiss. Probably more than I should have. The feeling of his warm, wet mouth against mine was enough to make my toes curl.

"Listen, Katniss-"

"What?" I snap, angry at him for making feel these things, angry at him for making me like him. Can't I just be single for the rest of my life like _I planned_?

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I know you're confused about Gale and me kissing you probably didn't help. It probably confused you even more, if you even think of me like that, which I probably should've checked before I tackled you like that. I don't want us to not be friends just because of me. Actually, I was going to ask you if you do like me, but I guess you don't really want to talk to me. Katniss, I'm sorry, really-"

"Peeta," I interrupt. It's weird to see him ramble because he's usually so good with words.

"We need to stay friends for now. I need to get some things sorted out first, okay?"

Relief spreads out across Peeta's face. He doesn't smile, but I like relief better than terror. "That's good."

I take a step forward. "And Peeta? I...I do like you," I sputter. He raises his eyebrows. It is usually a shock for me to admit my feelings.

Before he says anything, I turn to leave. Prim is already at the entrance door, staring curiously over my shoulder at Peeta. She's probably wondering why he's not going to walk with us, but I don't say anything. She takes my hand and we walk out the door.

* * *

><p>I hold my breath and load my bow quietly. I am suddenly aware of the flock of birds flying overhead, the rough tree bark scratching me through my shirt. This is what happens when I hunt. My senses overload, but in a good way.<p>

The squirrel I'm aiming for is two trees over, curiously scratching at the bark. I make my mark and steady my arm, pulling my shoulders back and holding my breath. Its head snaps towards me and I let my arrow fly. It hits the squirrel right on my mark-its eye.

I grin and slide down the tree.

"Good job, Katniss," Gale says, leaving the squirrel on the ground, but pulling the arrow out. He wipes it off in the grass and hands it back to me.

Our hands brush against each other. My brain shoots off warning signals, reminding me that I have to talk to him and I have to do it now.

"Remember when you kissed me?" I say suddenly. Well, that was a stupid start, of course he remembers. I hate talking because what seems right in my head doesn't come out of my mouth. I personally believe Peeta should split his amazing talking talent with me; therefore, we could both be average at words. Gale raises his eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"I finally realized that I think we should just...stay friends, like Peeta and I." I press my lips together, silently cursing myself. I had been thinking of Peeta so much that the part about us slipped out.

"What? What happened with Peeta?"

I open and close my mouth, not willing to let anything else slip from my lips. Gale takes a step forward.

"Katniss, what happened?"

I give him a fake smile and pick up the squirrel off the ground by its tail. I should give this to Peeta's dad-crap, there I go again.

"Nothing," I say, sliding the squirrel into my game bag. I'm hoping Gale will believe the lie, but no such luck.

"Did he say something to you? Did he touch you?" he says dangerously.

I scowl and push my now clean arrow onto my sheath. "No. Gale, it's nothing. Just drop it." I shrug.

"There's something different about you and I think it has something to do with him," he huffs as we head back to the fence.

"There's nothing different about me and even if there was, it wouldn't have anything to do with Peeta. Can't you just be civil with each other?" My words aren't quite necessary, but I feel the need to set them across anyways. Gale doesn't say anything else as we crawl under the hole filled with mushy snow. It's begun to melt, sending dirty, grey water trails all through the dirt roads in the District.

"I don't have anything to trade, so I'm going to head home. Posy's got a cold." He trudges off to the left.

"I'll send some medicine!" I call. Gale waves over his shoulder. Only ten minutes later, when I'm in my own house and cooking dinner for Prim and my mom, do I notice that Gale was heading in the opposite direction of his house.

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

I rest my head on the back of the couch and smile. For the past twenty-four hours, I've been reliving my kiss with Katniss. It sort of makes me sad towards the end though because she walked away.

But all through our last class, when I was staring at her, my eyes were automatically drawn to her mouth that's always kept in a scowl. Its makes my stomach flip-flop to think that I kissed her, I actually kissed her after eleven years of falling for her. But then again, she does want us to stay friends. That's my least favorite part.

A grin eases its way across my face as I remember her mouth opening slightly and her hands curling against my chest. No matter what she will ever tell me, I know she liked it. I grin even wider. And she told me she liked me.

A knock on the front door sounds through the house. Since I'm on the couch just a few feet away, I volunteer.

"I'll get it!" I yell, standing up and twisting the knob. The person standing in front of me, tall with straight black hair and angry grey eyes, shocks me to my very core. Never would I think of Gale Hawthorne standing on my front porch.

I don't say anything, I just stare. _What if Katniss told him that I kissed her and he's here to kill me?_ Not that I wouldn't be able to fight him off, I am on the wrestling team, but still.

"Peeta." He says it like we're old acquaintances meeting up for a drink. We are exactly the opposite but I can tell what he's doing. He's making sure my parents don't hear his harsh tone.

"Gale," I answer back, taking a step outside and closing the door behind me. "What brings you here?" I ask casually.

"Katniss."

Ahh, yes, Katniss. I almost smile but I that probably won't set well with Gale.

"What did you do to her?" he snaps. Straight to the point, I see.

"What do you mean?" I ask, genuinely confused. Does he mean did I kiss her or she's acting weird because of me kissing her?

"Don't play stupid, Mellark. Did you say anything to her? Did you do anything to her?"

I take a moment to think. Either he can hear it from me, or from Katniss. I'm thinking Katniss is better but maybe hearing it from me would take a bit of pressure off Katniss.

"I kissed her."

Gale narrows his eyes at me. He clenches his jaw and looks ten times angrier than he did five minutes ago. "Stay away from her," he growls.

I'm taken aback. Who is he to tell me to stay away from? "You have no right to tell me what to do," I snap. I'm not usually churlish.

Gale scowls. "Just stay _away_," he snaps. Before I can tell him what he can do with his suggestion, he turns on his heel and stalks off.

I walk back in my house and slam my door shut, immediately regretting it when my mother starts yelling. I groan and drop back on the couch. Katniss didn't send Gale over, did she?

Probably not. Maybe? Quit worrying, I tell myself, leaning back against the couch again.

After all, she did kiss me.

* * *

><p>I lean against the counter and rub the spot my mom told me I missed five minutes ago. She said that if the counters aren't sparkling by the time she comes back from wherever she went, I'll have to clean them until I can't feel my fingers. I'd rather have all nerve endings in my hand working.<p>

The bell above the door rings. I drop the tattered rag and turn to greet the customer, but the only thing that happens is a smile. Katniss strides up to the counter and rests her elbows on it. She slides a coin to me.

I unfreeze and take it, setting it in the jar under the counter.

"What can I get you?" I grin. For some reason, my brain gets an image of Katniss saying, "You" and pulling me down to kiss me really hard. Okay. We're friends, just friends. I repeat this over and over as Katniss nibbles on her bottom lip.

"How about a bag of your flower cookies?"

My flower cookies. She means the ones I ice myself. I take a white bag with Mellark stamped on it in dark blue and scoop flower cookies into it, making sure to get some primroses. I pass it to her.

"Where'd you get the coin?" I ask as she presses her hips against the counter and I take up the rag again.

Katniss glances around and leans forward until her lips are brushing against my ear.

"I shot a deer. Sold the whole thing and got five coins for it," she murmurs, making my heart try to claw its way out of my chest to cuddle with Katniss.

"Really?" I choke, suddenly aware of her face being close to mine.

"Mhmm." She pulls away before I can do anything and smiles. "Prim's always wanted cookies from here, so I thought I'd buy her some."

"Well, tell her I said it was my idea," I joke. Katniss laughs as she walks around the counter to where I'm standing. I don't know what she's doing until she lifts herself up on her toes and kisses my cheek, her lips lingering longer than necessary.

My stomach flips twice before she pulls away, but doesn't drop, she stays on her toes. Katniss reaches up, turns my chin with her hand and kisses me. At first, I turn and wrap my arms around her waist, about to kiss back. But then I stop.

Katniss just wants to be friends and after this kiss, she'll probably want to stay friends. It makes me angry.

I push her shoulders back, pulling her mouth from mine.

"You can't do this to me Katniss. If you want to stay friends, fine! I don't care, but you can't keep...you can't keep playing with my heart like this."

She grimaces and slides from under my hands that are still locked around her shoulders. I feel my lips settle into a line. She doesn't look me in the eye as she takes her bag off the counter and walks towards the door. Right as she is about to walk out, she turns to look at me.

"I know, Peeta. I'm sorry." Then she's gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I know they're a bit OOC, but keep in mind that this is under different circumstances. Katniss had the kind best friend that she missed as a kid, therefore, I think that Peeta would've rubbed off on her and she would have just a smidgen of a kinder heart. Just my personal opinion, feel free to correct me. **

**FREE VIRTUAL PEETA-MADE COOKIES FOR ALL MY READERS! (Because Peeta likes you:))**

**And if you review, you can get a whole cake ;)**


	5. Chapter 5: Stars

_I'm not a perfect person  
>There's many things I wish I didn't do<br>But I continue learning  
>I never meant to do those things to you<br>And so I have to say before I go  
>That I just want you to know<em>

_I've found a reason for me__  
>To change who I used to be<em>_  
>A reason to start over new<em>_  
>and the reason is you.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

I don't know why I kissed him. I can't even remember what was going on in my head. I just wanted to thank him for the cookies, and for some reason saying thank you wasn't enough. So, naturally, I was going to kiss his cheek, and the next thing I know I was actually kissing him.

When he angrily pushed me away, something settled in my stomach. I knew what it was, but I don't plan on telling Peeta. It was disappointment.

* * *

><p>I roll over and reach for Prim. I don't have to reach far before my hand brushes against her soft hair. She moves in closer to me, sighing in her sleep. I touch her cheek and wrap my arm around her protectively before drifting back to sleep.<p>

When I wake back up, it's to the knocking on the front door, about ten feet away. It's bound to be Gale, coming to see why I'm not going hunting. I sit up and see Prim, her hair recently braided by our mother and wearing an old light pink dress that I used to wear.

"Prim!" I hiss. She turns, her hand poised her the doorknob. "If he asks for me, tell him I don't feel well and I'm asleep, okay?"

She nods. Prim doesn't even bother to ask me why I'm feigning illness. I roll back over, facing the wall and squeeze my eyes shut.

The door clicks open. "Hello," Prim says, and I can see her in my mind, lifted on the tips of her used-to-be white ballet flats like she always is.

"Hey Prim, is Katniss here?" The voice is not Gale's like I expected it to be. I shoot out of bed, closing the ten feet between my bed and the front door in record time. I cover Prim's mouth with my hand before she can tell him I'm sick and asleep.

"I'm here," I say to Peeta, shooting the protesting Prim a look. She pulls away and walks into our room.

"Hey," Peeta says, looking me up and down, still in my nightclothes.

I walk out on the porch and shut the door behind me. I can feel the awkward between us from me kissing him and him pushing me away. I try to ignore it, but just like Peeta, it's persistent, trying to constantly remind me of what happened.

"I was hoping you'd come to the Meadow with me? We could talk things out."

Peeta pulls a grey, thick, scratchy looking, folded up blanket from behind his back.

I open my mouth to protest, but then I think of how awkward things have become between us. I want my best friend back.

* * *

><p>We don't talk for six hours. The silence is comfortable between us, laying down on the blanket in the Meadow. It's nighttime now, the moon and stars high above us.<p>

The stars are so clear out here because District 12 has no electricity running. Occasionally, they'll turn it on (like a few days ago when I was in the woods with Peeta), but usually it's not on. I wonder what the stars look like in the Capitol since they have electricity running constantly. I bet they can't see them.

I rest my hands on my stomach and look straight ahead. It's still a little cold outside, but the snow has mostly melted away, leaving everything damp or covered in small patches of mushy snow. Peeta brought the rough, thick blanket just for that.

I glance over at him, with his arms under his head and smiling slightly. I pull myself up on my elbow and his eyes dart to me, scanning my face up and down. Something causes my stomach to roll with nervousness. I lift my hand and lay it on his chest. He stares at me, confused.

I did tell him I wanted to stay only friends, but for the past couple of days, that feeling is becoming fainter. Maybe I do want a relationship with Peeta. We've kissed twice and both of those made me confused, but happy nonetheless. Maybe it was meant to be this way, Peeta and I.

I pull myself up and lean over until I block his view of the sky.

"Katniss," he warns, his blue eyes scanning my face again. I should probably tell him my thoughts first.

"I know I told you that I wanted us to be friends, but...I'm not so sure of that now."

Peeta's eyes widen and he reaches up to cup my face. "Do you think we could at least try to be a couple?"

I think about it. It seems logical to try a relationship with him, and if it doesn't work, then we could most definitely stay friends.

I nod slowly. Peeta stares at me then finally pulls my face down. My eyes automatically flutter shut when I feel his breath hit my lips.

When his mouth touches mine, it somehow feels different now that we're officially dating. My neck begins to strain, so I pull away, rubbing it. Peeta's looking at me with a worried look on his face, probably wondering why I pulled away in the first place.

I sit up and give him a reassuring smile. "Sorry, that position was hurting my neck."

His face relaxes and he sits up himself, searching my face. I can tell he's thinking.

"I have to tell you something," he says, looking down. Hopefully nothing bad, I think.

"It might be too much, but if I don't tell you now, I don't know how well it'll set with you later. I've-" He stops to take a deep breath before continuing. "I've been in love with you since we were five." He looks up at me to see my reaction.

I knew he liked me, but love? Peeta Mellark, my best friend, loves me? And since we were five?

He licks his lips and continues. "My father pointed you out on the first day of school when we were waiting to line up. You were wearing a plaid dress and you had your hair in two braids. He said, 'See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner," Peeta says, still looking at me.

I want to say something, to tell him that he's making it up, but I don't.

"I'm glad I worked up the nerve to actually talk to you the day after...after the bread, because we never would've become best friends."

I sit with my hands curled in my lap, my eyes on them. It's a lot to take in. I knew he liked me, but I never thought there would be a possibility of love.

I open my mouth to reply, but he plows on. "You don't have to return these feelings. It's a lot of pressure to know that I love you, I guess, and I would've actually waited a while before I said it, but I thought I'd go ahead and say this since we're starting our relationship...If you still want to."

I take a deep breath. If I don't have to return them so quickly, I still want to.

"I do," I say, looking up and locking eyes with him. He grins and pulls me into his arms, then lays down. I move closer to him, shivering.

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

I'm woken up by some bird in the distance, calling to it's mate, probably. I don't question why I am able to hear a bird in my room, but my bed's very uncomfortable and it's freezing in here. Someone shifts next to me, and for a moment, I'm frozen.

Who's in my bed? I open my eyes and am immediately blinded by the sun. I snap my eyes shut again.

Oh.

That would make sense. I guess I fell asleep last night after talking to Katniss-and oh my God, Katniss is my girlfriend.

I open my eyes again and look at her, snuggled up against my side, her face rid of her usual scowl. She looks so peaceful. My left arm is under her head, sufficing as a pillow, while my right arm is draped over her waist.

Katniss shivers and snuggles in closer, sighing contently. Her body warmth is welcome. I begin to draw lazy circles on her back, trying to contain my excitement. The girl I've been chasing after for eleven years is my girlfriend.

I'm truly surprised that she said she actually has feelings for me-well, not exactly, but "I know I told you that I wanted us to be friends, but I'm not so sure of that now" is close enough-and I'm even more surprised she still wanted to date me even after I told her I love her. It's so un-Katnisslike.

She suddenly throws her arm over my shoulder and tries to move in closer, probably because it's pretty cold outside. It seems early, but the sun is up pretty high, so not too early. My mom is going to kill me for not coming home last night.

I gently shake Katniss's shoulder, trying to wake her softly so she doesn't freak out. She grimaces and swats my hand away. I laugh.

"Katniss, wake up." I'm not so afraid of scaring her now. Katniss scowls and I know she's awake now. She sits up and glares at me before looking around. Katniss is not one to wake up early, even though she hunts earlier than this.

I remove and stretch out my arm that Katniss was using as a pillow, trying to regain the little blood flow it lost. She rubs her eyes and takes her arm away from my shoulder. I open my mouth to ask her if she maybe wanted to go somewhere with me, but she beats me to it.

"My mom's probably worried. I should head back home," she says, starting to stand up. I stand up after her, pulling the itchy, damp blanket off the ground.

"Let me walk you," I say, hefting the blanket onto my shoulder.

Katniss looks me up and down, scowling, then her face relaxes. "Okay."

I walk up next to her and hold out my hand, palm up. She looks up at me, not moving. I sigh and readjust the blanket so I can use my other hand. I use the hand that's not held out and take Katniss's hand, placing it in mine. Her hand is like a dead fish in mine until I intertwine our fingers.

She looks down at our hands and the tiniest hint of a smile plays on her lips, but before I can check to make sure it's not a trick of the light, she resumes walking.

We fall into a comfortable silence, birds and the sound of people heading to the mines breaking it. I watch in awe as the men and women who have long stopped trying to scrub coal dust out of the cracks of their nails and deep creases in their faces walk to the mine shaft, laughing and talking.

Mornings are not like this in town. When people head to work, there is no laughing or discussing the latest family issue. Any laughter is usually just for show. There's the usual curt nod of the adults and that's it. I like the workers of the Seam. They seem more cheery even though they have had much more hardships than the townspeople.

Katniss peaks around me, curious to see what I'm looking at. She scowls and looks back to my face. I tear my eyes away from the workers and survey her. Why is she scowling?

"Why were you smiling at the workers?" she questions, slackening her grip on my hand slightly. I know what she's thinking. She's thinking that I'm comparing the Seam workers to the Town workers. I am, but not in the way she thinks. She thinks I think that my part of the town is so much better than hers, but in reality, we're not. We're just as poor, but we hide it with pastel colors and false smiles.

I tighten my fingers, silently encouraging her to do the same, but she doesn't. "I'm just observing how different Seam workers are than Town workers. They're happier and nicer. I like it." I give Katniss a reassuring smile. Her scowl slackens a bit. Good enough for me.

The smile on my face doesn't drop until Katniss freezes, her fingers suddenly tight on mine. I lift my eyes from the ground where I was watching my boots on the dirt road and look up to see grey eyes staring back at me.

"Gale," Katniss says, incredulity present in her voice. Gale's eyes shoot to our hands, then the blanket hiked up on my shoulder. He assumes the worst because he spins on his heels and stalks in the opposite direction. Katniss shakes our hands, trying to untangle her fingers from mine.

When she achieves this, she takes one step forward and calls, "Gale!" But all that's left is a dirt cloud.

I reach for her hand and she lets me take it. Her eyebrows are furrowed, her bottom lip protruding slightly. I've never seen Katniss pout before. It's weird.

I gently tug her closer to me. She is nowhere near crying (Katniss Everdeen does _not_ cry), but I can tell she's a smidgen upset. Her pout turns into a deeper scowl when we begin to walk.

I sigh. "Just talk to him," I say, repeating the advice that basically started everything.

"That seems like the only thing we've been doing lately. Just talking."

Just talking. At least they're not secretly kissing behind my back like we were with him. My gaze falls back on my boots, kicking up dirt. A feeling settles in my stomach. Guilt. I don't want anybody to be hurt, and even though Gale can be a jerk sometimes, he doesn't deserve to be lied to by his best friend.

Katniss pulls her hand out of mine. I look up to see we're at her house, standing on her front porch. I didn't even notice.

Katniss tentatively opens the door and her mother instantaneously appears, a hard look on her face. I immediately know this is my fault.

"Katniss," she says, her voice not sharp at all. "Where have you been?"

Katniss opens her mouth to respond but I take the blame. I hope Mrs. Everdeen likes me as much as I thought.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Everdeen, it's my fault. I invited Katniss out to the Meadow and we stayed a bit late. I must be boring or something because we both fell asleep." I let out a little laugh, showing her that I truly did not mean to keep her out all night.

Her face softens. "Oh, all right. I wasn't that worried about you, Katniss. You're a smart girl, you'd know what to do if anything happened."

Katniss doesn't acknowledge the fact that her mother complimented her. She's cold towards her mother because of those few years when she fell out of this world and landed in her own depressed and sorrow-filled one. I know she's the reason Katniss and Prim almost starved to death.

I don't blame her-love is quite powerful-but Katniss does. I try not to get in her way. Mrs. Everdeen smiles at me and walks away, heading towards the back where I know their bedroom is.

Katniss reaches inside and shuts the door. She turns back towards me, her eyes locked on mine. For a moment, we just stare at each other, her, leaning her weight on one hip with her arms crossed and me, readjusting the blanket that's begun to scratch my neck uncomfortably.

Katniss drops her arms and lifts her chin a little. I take this as the international for a kiss. I hope I'm right; I don't need a black eye for my friends to tease me about.

I rest my hands on her hips as hers go on my shoulders. When I kiss her, my stomach drops into my toes. It'll take a little while getting used to kissing Katniss Everdeen.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yaaaaaaaay! I'm making this up along as I go and it's awesome. Hahaha. Review please. You're all wonderful!**


	6. Chapter 6: Swimming

_In the light of the sun, is there anyone? Oh it has begun  
>Oh dear you look so lost, eyes are red and tears are shed,<br>This world you must've crossed.  
>She said,<em>

_You don't know me, you don't even care, oh yeah,  
>She said<br>You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains,  
>Oh yeah. <em>

_Essential yet appealed, carry all your thoughts,  
>Across an open field,<br>When flowers gaze at you,  
>They're not the only ones who cry<br>When they see you. _

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

I stare at my dark brown hunting boots as I walk the dirt road to Gale's house. It's a sunny day outside, warmer than it was yesterday when Peeta and I woke up. And then Gale saw us.

He's probably pissed. Well, I did tell him that I wanted to stay friends, and I meant it, I really did. I also told Peeta that, but Peeta...is different. It sounds stupid to say that, but he is. He's different than Gale. I can't really explain how, but I'm just more attracted to Peeta. It's his personality. Maybe. Or his good looks. Something like that.

I lick my lips nervously and knock on the door gently. I half-expect to see Gale, glaring at me, but when it opens, it's Hazelle, Posy standing next to her holding her hand.

"Hi, Katniss." She smiles. By the way she's looking at me, and can tell she doesn't know that Peeta and I are dating, or that Gale is angry.

"Is Gale here?" I ask, perching lightly on my toes like I tend to do when I get nervous.

"Oh, no, he left early this morning. I thought he was going hunting, but he said he wasn't and didn't tell me where he went," she said, frowning slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So, you don't know where he is?"

"No. I suppose you don't either?"

"No, sorry. But if I see him, I'll tell him you're looking for him." I highly doubt I'll see Gale. I don't know where he'd be if he's not hunting. He doesn't like the Hob enough to stay there, even if he's mad.

"Thank you, Katniss. Have a good day."

"I will, Hazelle. See you later!" I call as I head back down the road. Well, that was disappointing. No matter how much I don't want to do it, I have to talk to Gale, and I was really hoping I could today, but I guess not.

I lick my lips again, another thing I do when I'm nervous. I take a sharp left, changing my directions from going to my house and heading to town. I keep my eyes down, staring at my boots. It's something I've picked up from Peeta since we were twelve. He does it when he walks because...well, I'm not really sure, but after watching him for a while, I've begun to do it too. And for some reason, I can't break it.

I stop in front of the bakery. I want to see Peeta rather than go home. I push open the door, hearing the ring of the bell. I expect Peeta at the counter, but instead, I see my other favorite Mellark, Rye.

"Well, Katniss! I haven't seen you in a while!" he exclaims. I hide my grin with a scowl and lean against the counter.

"Is Peeta here?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's in the back."

"Am I allowed to go back there?"

"To see your boyfriend, sure." He grins when I blush furiously. I don't say anything as I walk around the counter and push past the doors.

Peeta and his father are working in the back; Mr. Mellark making bread and Peeta icing a cake.

When Peeta sees me, he sets down the icing and comes over to me. He kisses me with his father standing right there and my face heats up yet again.

Peeta pulls away and I can see his father grinning into the bread he's kneading.

"What're you doing here?" He smiles.

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out today. What time do you get off of work?" I ask, twisting my fingers. My eyes are drawn to the door that leads upstairs. I'm not afraid of Peeta's mother, but what if she storms down the stairs and screams at me for distracting Peeta or something else ridiculous?

Peeta grins. "Actually, it's my day off, I was just helping." He turns and gives his dad an expectant smile. "But if you'll let me go early...?" He trails off.

His father shakes his head and waves his dough-covered hand. "You don't even have to ask me. It's your day off. I'll tell your mother."

"Thanks dad." Peeta slips off his apron and hangs it on a pair of hooks stuck in the wall painted purple. He turns slips his hand into mine.

The warmth from his hand spreads tingles up my arm. I scowl. Peeta pushes open the door.

Rye leans against the counter, flashing us a grin. I begin to wish that he won't say anything because I have a feeling he will try. Odds are, he will. Rye's one of those people who like to make other innocent people uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I am usually that person.

"Goodbye love birds!"

And we were almost to the door. I'm not very good with odds. I roll my eyes and feel the pinpricks of heat crawling up my neck. Why is it so easy for me to blush?

Peeta just smiles like he always does. We step outside and it seems it's gotten hotter since I was outside five minutes earlier.

"So," Peeta says, breaking the silence. "What did you have planned?"

_Planned?_ "Oh, um, I didn't plan anything; I didn't even know we'd be hanging out today. I just went on a whim."

"Oh." Peeta shrugs. "Well, then what do you want to do?"

I could take Peeta to the Hob, but that would require hunting to trade for and Peeta's not good at that. We could go on a walk again, but walking seems dull. I want to do something...fun, and it's hard to think what's fun. I bet Prim knows.

As we walk, I try to think of something amusing. Instantly, I think of my father and the woods. At least twice a week, he would take me deep into the woods, to a lake where he taught me how to swim. I'm pretty sure Peeta doesn't know how to swim and it would be a laugh to teach him.

"I want to teach you how to swim."

Peeta gives me a look. "In case you haven't noticed," He waves his hand around, "there's nothing here to go swimming in. Unless you have a big bathtub."

I scowl. "I know someplace."

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

This is probably the first time that I've been in the woods and nothing bad has happened...so far. First time, Katniss had to go home hungry (until I snuck her some bread), and last time the electricity turned on-which isn't so bad because it led to our first kiss.

Katniss is still holding my hand, trekking uphill. When she said it was far in the woods, she really meant it. Even though she won't tell me what "it" is.

I'm not use to walking uphill for a while, so I'm panting a little. All District 12 has is flat dirt roads and I've never been this deep in the woods, where everything is on a hill.

Katniss pauses to let me catch my breath. I'm not out of shape, but we've been climbing for quite a while and my legs are beginning to cramp.

"You okay?" Katniss teases.

"I'm fine." I scowl, arching my back and raising my arms over my head to stretch. Katniss keeps her eyes ahead, scanning the trees.

I reach out to take her hand again and we pick up walking.

"We're not far," she says.

"Far from what?" I ask, the curiosity getting to me. If she wants to teach me how to swim, it can't really be that hard to know what she's talking about, but I don't know if there's some secret pool or ocean or lake. The biggest thing I've ever been in with water is a bathtub, and I have a feeling we're not heading to a giant tub.

"You'll see, Peeta. Be patient."

I scowl. I am patient. A few more minutes and Katniss slides her hand out of mine and moves between some trees and into a clearing. I follow her.

The first thing I notice is a lake. It's not really big, but it's large enough to do a few laps. It's greenish-blue with roots and plants all around it. To the left is an old cement house. Well, not really a house. It's sort of like a shed. I can tell it's old by the erosion on the roof and the sides. Who knows how long it's been here?

The sun high above makes the lake sparkle, and it hurts my eyes to look at it too long. It's beautiful. I wonder how Katniss came upon it. It was probably her father, who knows everything that has to do with the woods. I know her mother didn't show her-I don't think she's ever been into the woods.

I turn to grin at Katniss, but it falters. She's reaching for the bottom of her shirt. She's not...she's not taking it off, is she? Before I even have time to be embarrassed, Katniss pulls her shirt over her head. Underneath it is a tank-top. I feel a bit of relief. Nakedness doesn't embarrass me, but Katniss is my girlfriend, and it would just be weird.

Katniss sits on the nearest log and begins to unlace her boots. After she takes off one shoe, she looks up at me.

"You're not going to swim with your shoes on, are you?"

That would be bad. I sit down next to her and take of my shoes.

"I'll be right back," says Katniss. She stands up and walks inside the shed thing. I pull off my shirt and drop it next to hers. I begin to tap my fingers on my knees nervously. I've never swam before and I don't know how deep this lake is. It's not _that_ scary.

Katniss comes back out, holding her dark green pants in her hands and wearing a pair of cut-off blue jean shorts.

She notices my curious look. "I keep a change of clothes in there in case I want to go swimming."

"That makes sense." She licks her lips and nods. Katniss takes my hand and pulls me off the log. She walks me to the edge of the water.

"I've never gone swimming," I say. She steps in the water and turns to face me.

"I know. That's why I want to teach you." She reaches out, taking both of my hands and intertwining our fingers. Katniss steps back slowly until I'm in the water. The bottom is squishy and goes in-between my toes, a sensation I've never felt before. The day may be a warm one, but the water is near freezing. The ice on top could've only melted a few days ago. It doesn't seem to be affecting Katniss that much though.

She stops when we're knee high. I shiver. Her eyes go from my face to my chest.

"You have freckles?" she asks, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. I suddenly feel self-conscious and cross my arms over my bare chest, even though most of my freckles are on my shoulders and my back.

"Yes, so?"

Katniss laughs. "No, no, don't take offense; I just didn't know you had any." She crosses her own arms over her chest and raises one eyebrow, still smiling. She looks nice and my heart skips a beat at the sight of her. I want to kiss her. I grin, realizing that now I can, whenever I want to (as long as she approves).

I take a step forward, causing the water to splash up around Katniss's knees. She shivers as the cool water meets her warm skin.

I put my hands on her waist and pull her against me. She pulls herself up on her toes before I can kiss her and presses her mouth against mine.

Katniss has only kissed me once. All the other times, it's been me. It's nice to have a change. She puts her hands on my shoulders and drops down, pulling me with her.

When she opens her mouth, my stomach flips. I know I've said that before, but it's like nothing I've ever felt before. She pulls me closer and brushes her tongue against my lower lip. Okay. Okay. It's hard to think, but I don't exactly have to. My body reacts by itself.

I slide my hands around to press into the small of her back and pull her even closer. I open my mouth, but accidentally grin, breaking off our kiss.

Katniss's cheeks are red when she pulls away. She takes my hand, licking her lips like I know she always does when she's nervous. What does Katniss have to be nervous about?

She pulls me into the water until it's waist high and tries to pull me in further. When I stop, she smirks.

"Come on, Peeta," she says, taking my other hand and pulling hard. I'm stronger than her, and the bottom of the lake is filled with at least five inches of pure mushy muck. She tugs again and slips, splashing into the water.

I can't help laughing. She surges back up, sputtering dirty lake water. She sees me laughing and pushes my chest.

"Don't push me!" I laugh, catching her wrists. "You're the one who fell in!"

Katniss scowls. I laugh again. It seems to draw something out of her because she laughs too. I draw her in and kiss her again.

"Okay, okay, I brought you here to teach you how to swim," she says sternly, shivering. I nod curtly, once.

"Yes m'am. Teach me, master."

Katniss stares at me with a bored expression before she bursts out laughing.

"Don't call me master," she says, grinning.

And she teaches me. I catch on easily. Swimming isn't that hard, it's the drowning part I'm concerned about, but the lake is only deep enough so I can go under completely. It's not a vast hole that goes on forever. It ends somewhere, I'm just glad that somewhere is two feet under my treading legs.

Katniss can swim fast, and hold her breath for a long time. She stayed at the bottom so long, that I begin to worry, but then she popped up, blinking away the water.

I climb out of the water. The once warm air has become chilly, and adding to the fact the water was freezing, makes me think I'm going to catch ammonia. Katniss notices me and gets out herself.

"Want to head back?"

"Yeah," I answer, my teeth chattering. We pull our clothes back. My mom is probably going to freak out about me being wet. Oh well.

Katniss takes my hand and we go back into the trees.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I got writers block halfway through, so it kind of sucks and that's why it took me so long to update. Sorry! Also, I was thinking, if I end this story with the reaping, I could do a sequel of this when they go into the Games, so you get Katniss's and Peets's point-of-view! Whatcha think? Plus, it would be different since they're already in love before going to the Capitol. Again, it's not an original idea, but I think it'll be fun to write it. Give me your opinion and review please! :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Friends

_And I've been a fool and I've been blind__  
>I can never leave the past behind<em>_  
>I can see no way, I can see no way<em>_  
>I'm always dragging that horse around<em>

_ All of these questions, such a mournful sound__  
>Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground<em>_  
>So I like to keep my issues strong<em>_  
>But it's always darkest before the dawn<em>

* * *

><p><strong>*Katniss*<strong>

"Gale."

Gale tenses and turns to look at me, a huff of air coming out through his nose. Okay, so he is mad. I've been trying to talk to him for the past few days, but I can never seem to catch him. I'm lucky that I saw him at the Hob, trading a few rabbits for some cheese.

"I don't want to talk to you," he says, turning back around and thanking the person he was trading with.

I come up next to him. "Well, I want to talk to you. We need to."

He turns to me angrily. "There's nothing to talk about, Katniss. We're friends."

Gale grabs the cheese off the counter and stalks off. I chase after him. I have finally found him and I'm not letting him go that easily.

I grab his shoulder. "Don't be angry," I say. Gale doesn't say anything so I take this as a signal to continue.

"I really want to stay friends with you, Gale. I know you don't want to hear it but I like Peeta, I do. And I love you, but you're my best friend and I don't want you to be angry at me. I hate you ignoring me and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. Please, I'm sorry."

Gale's angry expression softens to a degree. "You like Peeta? You're dating him, but you can't date me?"

I frown. "You're my best friend-"

"Peeta's your best friend, but he gets to be more? I don't get it, Katniss," he snaps, his face angry again.

"I don't have the same feelings that you have for me. Would you rather me be your friend, or you like me and my feelings don't go past friendship? So, we'd date, you'd fall in love with me, but I would only want you as a friend. We get married, have kids, but I'd never love you like husband. Do you want to go through that pain, Gale? Because I don't want you to. It's what's best for both of us." I hate to bring a snappy attitude into my speech, but Gale tends to only listen when I'm angry. And I am. I can't return his feelings, I just can't. He has to understand it, and if I have to hurt his feelings in the process, so be it. We'll still be friends...I hope.

Gale scowls at me. "_Fine_," he says. "Fine, okay? Whatever you want, Katniss." He turns on the rubber heels of his boots, but I grab his shoulder again, a little forcefully.

"Don't you dare," I say, my anger rising, but I keep my voice down, remembering we're still in the Hob and a few people are watching curiously. "Don't you dare say 'Whatever you want, Katniss'. This is not my fault. We're going to stay friends, Gale, and you're going to get over being rude to Peeta, and everything's going to be fine, do you understand?"

Gale glares, breathing hard through his nose again. Then his shoulders drop from their tense state. "Yeah."

For some reason, I have a feeling he wouldn't be so forgiving if the reaping wasn't in a week. He could be picked or I could and I know Gale would hate for us to be angry at each other if one of us was going to die.

Then he surprises me by pulling me into a hug. I hug him back.

* * *

><p>"Did you talk to Gale?" Peeta asks, holding out his hand for me to take. I shift my coal mining book into my left arm and take his hand.<p>

"Yes, actually." He raises his eyebrows.

"What happened? Are you guys still friends?"

I explain to him what I said. We reach the classroom, and when we walk in, still holding hands, we get the usual stares from the kids. They're not cruel stares, but just looks that show merchant kids and Seam kids don't usually date each other. Peeta walks me to my seat and rests his forearms against the top of my desk.

"I'm glad you and Gale are friends. I wouldn't want to come between you two."

I smile and my gaze drops to his hands, curled into fists with scars on them from years of pulling cookies and bread and cakes out of the oven. I know how they feel, their warmth and his surprisingly soft skin. My hands aren't soft. "You aren't," I say, pulling my gaze back up to his face.

He sort of is, but I like him- a lot. I've never had these feelings before. Well, except for Prim. I don't think it's love, not yet at least. The only person I'm sure I love is Prim.

"Mr. Mellark, if you don't mind," our teacher says. Peeta stands up. Everyone else has taken their seats and is giggling. Peeta doesn't look flustered or anything. He just grins.

"Of course not," says Peeta. He's very comfortable with an audience. I am comfortable with an audience at all. I don't even like people.

Peeta saunters to his seat and when he sits down, the teachers begins to explain the homework for tonight. He does this, starts with what teachers usually say at the end of class. He's a peculiar teacher.

I make a face at Peeta, showing him how I feel about his being comfortable around people. He grins and flips open his book. I scowl. Like he's actually going to pay attention. No one pays attention to coal mining. It's been inscribed on our brains since kindergarten.

* * *

><p>Peeta slides his arms around my waist and kisses me again. I sigh and wrap my arms around his neck<p>

Peeta walked Prim and I home after school. Prim immediately went to our room, shutting the door quietly to play with Buttercup. I know she purposely did that to leave us alone. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Peeta had kissed me.

Without my mother home, I'm not embarrassed to be kissing Peeta in my kitchen. He moves his hands to the small of my back. I don't know why he does that when we kiss.

Someone clears their throat and I jump away from Peeta, heat flooding my face. My mom stands in the front door, holding a small bag of herbs I'm guessing she got from around the Meadow. Peeta licks his lips and glances at me, probably expecting me to say something.

"Hi mom" is all I say. Peeta shoves his hands into his pockets. My mom presses her lips together and makes her way into the bedroom. I hear Prim greet her before the door gently closes again.

"And to think your mom liked me," Peeta says quietly, turning to face me. I smile.

"She likes you, Peeta. Just not when you're kissing me."

He grins. "Right." Then he cups my face and brushes his lips against mine. "I should probably go home," he says, his thumbs stroking my cheeks.

"Okay." I kiss him again and then he pulls away, his face suddenly serious.

"I love you," he says. It's the first time he's said that without anything before or after.

"I know," I say, feeling my heart drop a little. I don't like not being able to say it to him, but I'm not going to say it unless I mean it.

Peeta's emotion doesn't even falter. He accepts that I won't say it. That's what he said when he told me he loved me in the first place. I like him for that because I know if Gale were to say he loves me and I said "I know", it would turn out badly.

Peeta kisses my forehead. "Alright, bye Katniss. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Peeta," I say, biting my lip. Almost immediately after Peeta is outside, my mother opens the bedroom door. I don't say anything, I just get the meat I was keeping cool from this morning, two rabbits and a squirrel, and begin to skin them on the counter.

"So you and Peeta are officially dating?" she asks. She pulls some vegetables out of an icebox used to keep things cool and starts to chop them up. I'm good at making soup, just throwing a bunch of stuff into a pot with water is easy. It took a few trades to get the vegetables, and I've decided to put them with dinner tonight.

"Yes," I answer after a long silence.

"I heard him say he loves you. How long have you been dating?" I narrow my eyes at her. It's not her business. I answer anyways.

"About one week."

A little smile tugs at the corner of my lips. It's funny to think that tomorrow I will be officially dating Peeta Mellark for one week. I finish cutting up the meat and add it to the pot. A few seconds later, my mom finishes chopping the vegetables and drops it in on top of the meat. I add the water, light the stove, and set the pot on it.

"Don't you think it's a little earlier to be saying 'I love you'? It's only been one week, it's a little serious."

I feel my eyes narrowing again as I sit on the worn, very close to being broken couch and she sits next to me.

"No. I've known Peeta for eleven years and we've been best friends for five. It's not like we've just met, mother." I cross my arms and lean against the back of the couch.

My mom nods, not satisfied, but taking my answer anyways.

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

I kick a flat rock with the toe of my boot and grin. I just kissed Katniss four times. I'm still not used to the fact that she's my girlfriend and I can kiss her freely.

I was right about last week, after the lake. My mom screamed at me for being dripping wet when I walked in the door. My dad had to talk her out of grounding me.

My shoe makes contact with another rock and I send it flying. It hits someone's ankle. The apology comes out of my mouth before I look up.

"I'm sorry-oh."

I slow to a stop and stare at Gale who looks like he's been waiting in the middle of the street for a while.

Great.

"Peeta," he says, just like the last time he confronted me.

I nod and accidentally blurt, "If you're looking for Katniss, she's at her house."

Gale stares at me. "I'm not looking for her actually. I was looking for you."

Me? Why would Gale be looking for me, we're not friends. "What for?" I ask, shoving my hands in my pant pockets.

"To...apologize."

This shocks me. He doesn't have anything to apologize for. Well, nothing I think he should for. His reaction to Katniss and I dating is expected. I would be angry if her and Gale started dating, not to mention sad and depressed. And moody. But that's not the point.

"For what?"

Gale gives me a look like I should most definitely know what for. "Because I shouldn't have been rude to you. Katniss choose to date you and I'm just going to accept it. You didn't do anything, really. I get jealous easily."

I grin. "I know that feeling too well."

He smiles too. I take a few steps forward and extend my hand.

"Friends?" Gale stares at my hand with a strange expression on his face that I can't place. I correct myself. "If not friends, then at least not enemies."

He reaches out and grabs my hand. We shake."Friends," Gale says. I can't help the second grin.

Maybe things will be better than I expected.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Qorkmfncmsalskdnfnrcmslkxmc! Second to last chapter! This is the first story that I've finish intentionally (with the next chapter). And after the next chapter is the sequel! I decided to name it *pause for dramatic effect* Easily Torn (Get it? Paper Thin, Easily Torn? Yeah? No...okay). I'm excited because it's going to be so much fun to write. :B**

**And you probably don't really care, but I just wanted to tell you what songs I listened to while a wrote this:**

**Boston- Augustana**

**Shake It Out- Florence and the Machines**

**Safe and Sound- Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars (which is on the HG soundtrack and is truly a lovely song! Check it out if you haven't already!)**

**Not Over You- Gavin DeGraw**

**Heart on Fire- Scars On 45**

**They're all good songs! :D Review please!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Reaping

_I remember tears streaming down your face__  
>When I said, I'll never let you go<em>_  
>When all those shadows almost killed your light<em>_  
>I remember you said, Don't leave me here alone<em>_  
>But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight<em>

_ Just close your eyes__  
>The sun is going down<em>_  
>You'll be alright<em>_  
>No one can hurt you now<em>_  
>Come morning light<em>_  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<em>

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeta*<strong>

"Peeta."

Someone shakes my shoulder gently. It's not my mom, I can tell you that. I want to tell then to go away, to let me get as much sleep as I can, but I know I can't say that. Not today.

Whoever it is shakes my shoulder again and I open my eyes to see my dad, his usual happy expression deflated. Of course he would be sad. This is the day of the reaping.

"Morning, son," he says, taking a step back so I can sit up. "We've got some work to do in the bakery."

I swing my feet over the side of the bed and stand up slowly. "Morning." I take a groggy moment to take in way he said about work and I say, "Okay."

We bakers work everyday of every year, especially on reaping day when people buy treats for their family to wish them luck. People don't usually work today. They're usually in their house, with the shutters drawn. May as well sleep in. If you can.

My father leaves to let me get dressed in my white shirt and tan pants. I look at my dresser where my mother has placed a dark blue button up shirt and a pair of my nicer tan pants for the reaping. It's the only time of the year when she's nice.

I open my door and almost immediately run into Barlee. He doesn't look that worried because he's been in the clear for two years. This is Rye's last year and I have another two.

He gives me a sort of sad smile and walks around me to go to the bathroom. Rye comes out of his room at the same moment. He claps me on my back with the same stony expression I saw my father wear when he woke me up.

"Let's go bake."

* * *

><p>We bake and sell for nearly six hours. A lot of people come in to buy things. I wish Katniss would come in because I know she would help with the knots in my stomach. Just seeing her would ease my nervousness to a degree, but I know she's out hunting with Gale. I'll see her in the square.<p>

I'm glad that I'm working with Rye because then we can be jittery together. It wouldn't be the same if I were working with Barlee because he's not near as nervous as I am. He doesn't have to wait in line for his death anymore. I envy that.

At twelve o'clock, we close the bakery and get ready. The reaping starts at two and we leave here at one. It doesn't take an hour to get ready, but it's nice to have some extra minutes just to ourselves. Breakfast is fresh bread and strawberries Katniss gave us last night. She said it was a good luck gift, like her sister gives her.

The fresh bread is a treat. We usually eat stale bread, bread that doesn't sell. After breakfast, I go upstairs to take a bath and get dressed.

"Peeta, hurry up! I don't want to be late!" my mother screams up the stairs.

"Okay!" I shout back. I heft another pot of hot water from the floor and pour it into the bathtub. Merchants don't have showers, but I'm just glad we have enough water so that I don't have to use the same bathwater as my brothers.

I ease myself into the tub and let the hot water relax my muscles. It's okay, don't be nervous. My name's only in there six times. I should more worried about Katniss whose name is in the bowl twenty times or Gale, who over the past week has become a good friend, whose name is in there forty-two times.

Suddenly, I feel selfish and stupid. I am worrying about myself when the odds are not in many people's favor.

I quickly wash up and get dressed. Once downstairs, my mom nags me that my hair is messy, so I have to go back upstairs to run my fingers through it, then we're off to the square.

Most people are on their way too. I see my friends from school who wave, but don't smile. Everyone's grim and silent. It's the exact opposite of that one day when I saw the Seam workers going to work. All the laughing and talking seems too distant.

My mom, dad, and Barlee shift towards the outside of the ropes while Rye and I sign in. I swallow hard and look around for Katniss. She should be here by now.

I make my way to the clump of sixteen year-olds. I spot Katniss as she signs in and walks Prim to the back where all the twelve year-olds are. She comes over to our age group and I push through the crowd to meet her.

When I reach her, I kiss her. She hates it when I kiss her in public, it makes her squeamish, but right now, I don't care. It's a good luck kiss.

Her face is straight, but her eyes are terrified and I know who for. Prim. I take her hand in mine and intertwine our fingers.

The square becomes packed as people arrive. I look over at where Rye is and he gives me a reassuring smile before being swallowed by the crowd.

On the stage are three chairs, two being occupied by the mayor, Madge's father, and our District escort, Effie Trinket. The third and final chair is for Haymitch Abernathy, District 12's only living victor, but he never arrives on time. Even when he does, he's always drunk. Every year.

Just as the town clock strikes two, the mayor steps up to the podium and begins to read. It's the same story every year, the same story we get lectured on in school. I don't pay attention, I just look at Katniss, but we both know the story by heart.

How Panem came to be the sparkling, magnificent country it is today. How there were once thirteen districts, but then the Dark Days begun and all the districts rebelled. Out of the thirteen districts, twelve were defeated and the thirteenth was destroyed. Thus begun the Hunger Games.

The only reason the Hunger Games were started was to show all the districts how the Capitol is in control and there's nothing we can do about it.

"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," the mayor says in a monotone voice.

Then he announces our victors. We've only ever had two. One's dead and one's a drunk. At that moment, Haymitch staggers onto the stage. He looks confused and tries to give Effie a hug.

She pushes him away and goes to the podium. Her clothes and hair and makeup are much to bright for this setting. She looks so out of place surrounded by all the grime.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" she says brightly in her strange Capitol accent.

"Ladies First!"

She moves over to where the giant glass ball with the girl's names in it. Twenty of those have Katniss Everdeen typed neatly onto them. My stomach churns and I want to throw up.

Please not Katniss, please not Katniss, I chant in my head. Effie pulls out a slip of paper and crosses back to the microphone.

She reads out the name loudly. It's not Katniss.

It's Primrose Everdeen.

No. My heart seems to stop completely. Katniss begins to fall next to me so I grab her arm hard.

Not Prim, not little Prim whose name is only in there once. Prim who I've known since she was seven. The little girl who coos at the cookies I make and finds happiness in everything.

As she makes her way up to the podium, her small hands clenched into fists by her side, the room is silent. No one ever likes a twelve year-old being picked. I can see her shirt, that's a little too big, untucked from her skirt.

Suddenly, Katniss becomes alive next to me.

"Prim!" she shouts. "Prim!" She doesn't have to push through the crowd because the kids part almost immediately. Katniss shakes her hand out of mine and goes to the front. She sweeps Prim behind her with her arm and before I know what's happening, she gasps, "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

It's my turn to freeze, for my muscles to stop working. _Please no. Please tell me this is not happening._

"Lovely!" Effie Trinket says. "But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner-"

Winner? I think, outraged. I can't believe they call tributes winners.

"-and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um..." she trails off.

"What does it matter?" the mayor says. I don't think he recognizes Katniss as the girl his daughter is friends with. He has a pained expression but that would be anybody's reaction to something like this.

"What does it matter? Let her come forward."

That's when Prim begins to scream. She throws her arms around Katniss's waist and seems to not want to let go. "No, Katniss! No! You can't go!"

I can't hear what Katniss says because I'm too far away. But then I hear her say, "Let go!"

There's a change in the line containing the eighteen year-olds. Gale is coming out of the line. He pulls Prim from Katniss and she begins to thrash. He says something to her before carrying Prim off to Mrs. Everdeen.

Katniss climbs the steps to the stage.

"Well, bravo! That's the spirit of the Games!" Effie cries happily. "What's your name?"

Katniss hesitates a moment before answering. "Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!"

Not a single person claps. The whole square remains quiet. At first one, then another, then almost every member of the crowd touches three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and holds it out to her. My hand shakes badly. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means good-bye to someone you love.

It's not enough for me, though. I want to _give her more_ to show her that I love her.

Haymitch stumbles out of his seat and across the stage towards Katniss. "Look at her. Look at this one!" he shouts, throwing his arm over her shoulders. "I like her! Lots of..." He takes a while to think of a word, but when he finds one, he shouts it out almost victoriously. "Spunk! More than you! More than you!"

He stumbles towards the camera. As he opens his mouth to say something else, he pitches drunkenly off the stage and passes out.

"What an exciting day!" Effie trills as Haymitch is carried off on a stretcher. "But more excitement is to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!"

Oh no. My stomach seems to churn, roll, and drop into my toes all at once. I forgot about the boy tribute with the love of my life being chosen to die and all.

Effie pulls a name out of the ball and is back to the podium so quick, I don't have time to wish it's not me, or my brother, or anyone else I know.

"Peeta Mellark!"

That's me. That's my name. The people around me turn to stare at me, but I don't move. I can't. Me? A Seam boy nudges me forward and I'm grateful. I don't think I would've moved if he didn't.

I can feel everyone's eyes on me as I walk towards the stage. I try to stay emotionless, but when I look up and see Katniss staring at me, my brain shuts down. My body is smart enough to keep on walking steadily and take my place next to her.

The mayor reads the Treaty of Treason. I look out to the faces of people I've known since kindergarten, people I talk to everyday. They have horrified expressions on their faces and I know why. Katniss and I, the oddest couple of our grade, are going in the arena together. To die.

I search for Rye, and when I find him, his blue eyes look panicked. I try to tell him with my eyes that I'm okay, I'll be fine, but we both know I won't, so I look away.

The mayor finishes the Treaty of Treason and motions for Katniss and I to shake hands. Her hand is cold and clammy, so I try to give her a reassuring squeeze as I look at her grey eyes. She doesn't deserve this. Not when she's already fighting for her life.

We face the crowd again as the anthem plays.

* * *

><p>I am lead into the Justice Building by a few Peacekeepers. I look over my shoulder at Katniss and then we're pushed into opposite directions. The Peacekeepers lead me to a room where I will spend the next hour in.<p>

I sit on the velvet couch and try to control the shaking in my hands. The door opens and I'm off the couch in a second. I know it's my family, the family always comes first.

I reach out for my dad first, the person I am closest to in my family. He grips me tight when I hug him and I want to cry. I want to cry because I don't want to die. I've gone three years without being picked, but I guess you can't always avoid things.

My eyes burn with the effort of holding tears back. I don't like crying, I don't ever plan to cry.

"Oh, _stop that_," my mom snaps when I pull away and wipe my nose on my sleeve. "There will be cameras at the train station and they'll think you're weak."

I glare at her. Rye hugs me next and it seems he holds me even tighter than my dad. Then Barlee and finally my mother. She barely hugs me and it makes me feel like she won't miss me. That if I die, it'll be something she will brush off easily.

"I'm sorry," my dad says, the saddest look I've ever seen him wear on his face. "I'm so sorry you have to do this, Peeta."

I sit down on the couch and drop my head in my hands. "It's okay, dad. It's not your fault."

"You'll win, Peeta, I know it," Rye says, giving me a ghost of a smile. He doesn't mean it. There will be kids there who have been training since they could walk. Careers, we call them. I don't stand a chance against them.

There's really nothing else to say. I'm not Katniss, my family won't struggle without me anymore than they did with me. It'll be just a little more work. I don't need to tell them to keep up their jobs or if they do something they will stay afloat.

My mom breaks the silence. "Maybe District Twelve will finally have a winner," she says, looking up at me. "She's a survivor, that one."

That statement hits me so hard it feels like all the air in my lungs has been knocked out. She's talking about Katniss. My father jerks his eyes up sharply. He looks angry and my father rarely gets angry.

"How can you say that? How can you say that to your youngest son?" he snaps.

My mother doesn't say anything. She looks back down at the carpet, but she doesn't look ashamed.

We stay in an awkward silence until the Peacekeepers come to collect them. I hug my dad again, putting every bit of love I have ever felt for him into it.

"I love you, Peeta. Good luck."

Then the Peacekeepers lead them out. A few of my friends come to visit me, but too soon, my hour is up.

As the Peacekeepers lead me out, I suddenly wish that I could take one of their guns and shoot myself with it, but I know I can't.

I'm going into the Hunger Games, and I'm going to protect Katniss no matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And thus we reach the end of this story. I wanted to do it all in Peeta's POV because you've already gotten Katniss's POV, but fear not, the sequel will be both of them! Thank you all for the favorites, alerts and reviews! Look out for Easily Torn, the sequel! :D**


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